in the cart
obsolete In trouble; in a very bleak or grim situation. All of those recent layoffs point to a company in the cart yet again. I was in the cart there for a while, but I'm feeling much better after my hospital stay.
in the cart
in trouble or difficulty. British informal A cart was formerly used to take convicted criminals to the public gallows and to expose prostitutes and other offenders to public humiliation in the streets.